Sucker-rod-connecting means



E. J. SHAFFER SUCKER ROD coNNEcTVING MEANS 2 Shets-Sheet 3 Filed Deo. 24 1921 L ma Apr. 24, 1923.

A g l ,52 .f7

Apr. 24, 1923. 1,452,937

E. J. sHAr-'FER SUGKER ROD CONNECTING MEANS Filed Dec. 24, 1921 zsheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

y UNITED lSTATES ERNEST LSHAFFER, or TULSA, OKLAHOMA- SUCKER-ROD-CONNECTING MEANS.

Application led December 24, 1921. Serial No. 524,688.

T0 all fw hom it may concern.: l

Be it known that I, ERNEST J. SHAFFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa'and State of Oklahoma, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sucker-Rod-Connecting Means, of which the following is a full, clear, and' exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an accessory for use by drillers and operators of deep wells. Frequently in deep well operations the string ofsucker rods through which the drills are operated or the bump pistons actuated separates in the well tubing,l and in' the great majority of cases this separation is the result of one of the sucker rods breaking intermediate its enlarged ends where it is coupled to adjoining rods of the string, although the break occasionally occurs at the box of coupling. p It is the primary purpose of my invention to provide means through which an operator is enabled to repair a broken sucker rod without the necessity of pulling the entire string of rods from the tubing. 1 j

Afurther object is to'provide means of the aforesaidjcharacter that may be very conveniently and efficiently used asa fishing tool for recovering broken sucker rods from well tubing. y' v Other objects are to providea grappling device for the attainment of the foregoing `end which is very simple of construction; is

comparatively inexpensive of production; is strong, durable, and immune from disorder, and which has a double action in attaching itself to a rod that makes its holdk thereon exceedingly secure, the first, a clamping action resulting from the inherent resiliency of the material whereof the device is formed, and the second, a screw action resulting from the turning of the device upon the rod, the device havingl the character of ya thread cutting die and producing threads uponthe rod.

The foregoingobjects, and others which y longitudinal section thereof; Fig. 3 is a. vcross section on the line 3-3 of Flg. l;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of another form form of the invention wherein the bo-reis y graduated to catch rods of various diameters, f

as well as the boxes or couplings thereof.v y,

The form of the device illustrated in Figs. l to 3 comprises a substantially cylindrical body portion l, which is reduced in diameter throughout the greater portion'of its length upwardly yfrom its lower end and which terminates at its upper end in a threaded pin 2 that is adapted to be received by a coupling member 4, of a sucker rod 5, as illustrated in Fig. 6.k The body portion llhas a central bore 6 thatI extends from its lower end to within a comparatively short distance of its upper end, .and the Abore is threaded, the upper sides of the threads being substantially straight, -while the lower sides are inclined, ask will be readily seen from an inspection of Fig. 2. ,p This Peculiar design of thread greatly enhances the holding quality of the device.A The lower endof f the body portion is inclined upwardlyfrom its periphery to facilitate the finding of the broken rod when the device is lowered into the tubing. A series of slots 8 extendfrom the lower end of the body portion 1 to within a short distance of its upper end and divide it into a plurality of prongs 9 which may yield somewhat due to the resiliency of the metal and the fact that the prongs are ythinner throughout `their upper portions.` `While' as a fishing tool and assuming that afstring unscrewed, and the device of'my invention is attached to the socket 4 of the rod 5,

as shown in Fig. 6. The device is then lowered into the tubing by means of the sucker rods until it is brought into engagement with the broken end of the rod that is lost in the well. The converginglower end of the device, striking the broken end of the rod, centers and directs it into the bore 6, after which the device is forcefully pressed down over the rod and turned in a direction to screw it onto .the rod by means of a wrench applied to a squareon the vstring of rods where it projects above the tubing. The device is thus positively united to the broken sucker rod enabling the lost section ot' the string to be readily withdrawn from the tubing. Or, by reason of the very secure connection effected by the device, the drilling or pumping operation may be proceeded with if desired. Attention is called to the character of the threads of the bore 6, as they are illustrated in Fig. 3. Tt'will be observed that along one'edge of each of the prongs 9, the threads are chamfered at l0 while' adjacent the opposite edge of the 4prong the threads are sharp. It is the sharp edges of the threads which cut into the rod when the device is turned in a direction to thread it onto the rod. The opposite ends of the thread, being chamfered as shown, prevents the threads cutting deeper into the rod as the device is being unscrewed due to the tension of the prongs 9. This enables the device to be easily removed from the rod.

The form of the invention villustrated in Fig. 4, whilev it may be used as a fishing tool, is primarily intended for use as a temporary lrepair unit for joining together the severed ends of a broken rod, enabling the pumping operation to be proceeded with immediately after the rod is connected by means of the device, and Without the necessity of pulling the entire string.

This form of invention comprisesan elongated body portion which, at itslongitudinal center, is flattened on opposite sides, as indicated at 12, to provide means for turning the device as by the application of a wrench thereto. At each end, however, the present dev-ice issubstantially identical with that described above, and the parts thereof bear the same reference numerals as the corresponding parts of the previous form, aug- `mented by the exponent a When a break occurs ina stringof sucker rods the portion above the break is withdrawn from the tubing andthe device is applied thereto, cutting its `own threads Within the end of the rod and thus attaching itself very securely to the rod. The rods are then lowered into the tubing and the lower end of the device is attached to the other severed end of the rod in themanner illustrated in Fig. 7 after which the drilling or pumping operation may continue.

Fig. 5 illustrates a form of the invention that is identical with the form illustrated in Figs. 1A to 3 except that the slots8b stop short of the lower end of the body portion l". Here the segmental sections 9b between the slots 8b may yield somewhat intermediate their upper and lower ends so as to create the required pressure on the rod. The lower end of the bore of this form of the device is shown as flared slightly as indicated in dotted lines, to facilitate the attachment of the device to the rod. This same feature may be included in the other modifications, although it is not regarded as so essential in view of the yielding character of the prongs 9 and Qthroughout their entire lengths. The'closed slots 8b may be substituted for the open ended slots in the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. l.

In order to adapt the device to the catching of sucker rods of all diameters, the bore of the device may be tapered as illustrated in Fig. 8. Here ythe body portion lc is shown as dividedfinto prongs 9c by slots 8c that extend to the end of the body portion,

although in lieu thereof the slots lmay stop short ofthe end, as in Fig. 5. Obviously the tapered bore may be employed in connection with the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, adapting this modification for use with all sizes 'of sucker rods.

In using the devices having tapered bores, the rods enter until they find the zone of the bore having a diameter substantially equal to theirown whereupon the connection is made, the smaller rods naturally entering' further than those of greater diameter, as illustrated in Fig. 8 where the rods are representedby dot-and-dash lines. i

To take care of those situations where the break occurs at a box or coupling, as when a pin breaks, I modify the invention as shown in Fig. 9, so that at its lower end the bore is large enough to receive a box lO. The boreconverges upwardly slightly and then continues straight until it lmeets a shoulder 11 which separates the box receiving portion of the bore from the rod socket 12. This socket is also shown as a tapered bore enabling it t0 glfasp rods of different diameters. This form of the invention, then, will be reorganized as one adapted `to the catching of all sizes of sucker rods and their boxes or couplings.

vIn this form, the body portion ld is shown as divided into prongs`9d by slots 8dv which extend to the en d ofthe body portion. However, the shorter slots may be substituted therefor', as in the form of the invention illustratedin Fig. 5-

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A' device for recovering broken sucker rods from well tubing consisting of an elongated. body portion having a threaded bore apart circumferentially of the bore thereby to provide resilient parts capable of yielding radially, said parts being arrangedto grasp between them the broken end of a lsucker rod and hold the' same iirmly by reason of the inherent resiliency of said portion belng slotted longitudinally at/ l points spaced apart circumferentially of the bore thereby to provide resilient parts that are capable of yielding outwardly, said parts being arranged to grasp between them the broken end of a sucker rod and having cutting portions which are adapted to cut 'into the rod when the body portion is turned with respect to the rod, said parts, through their inherent resiliency, tending to force the cutting portions into the rod.

- 3. `A device for recovering broken sucker rods from well tubing comprising a substantially cylindrical body lportion having a -'threaded bore and slotted longitudinally at vpoints spaced circumferentially apart thereby to provide resilient segmental parts ca'- Lpable of yielding radially so that said parts will grasp between them the broken end of a sucker rod when forcedl thereover, the inherent resiliency of the parts causing the thread portions of said parts to cut into the `rod when the device is turned in a given direction, the thread portions of each segmental part being chamfered along one of thelateral edges of said part so as to override the rod when the device is turned in the op osite direction. f

ny testimony whereof, I hereunto aix my signature. v

ERNEST J. sHAFFER. 

